HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!

Happy Valentines Day!

Can you believe we are half way through February???? It has flown by!

Well this last week was probably one of the busiest weeks. Sister Brown and I were running around like chickens with our heads cut off from appointment to appointment. We truly have been so blessed by the Lord. I told Sister Brown we need to start praying for members we can go ask for referrals from and she said, "What, we can't do that! I don't think I can handle anymore" lol She is a goof! She def. got thrown in during a really busy time. The rain is back officially :( The weather here plays mind games on you and I don't like it. But it is all worth is when the sun finally does come out, it is sooooo beautiful!

This week we had stake conference and Elder Brinkerhoff from the 70 came and spoke to us. He is a really neat man. He had a meeting before the conference started with all the Recent converts, less actives coming back to activity and all investigators. He had some people stand up and bear there testimony and then our stake pres. and himself shared there testimonies as well. It was a very powerful meeting. How grateful I was though to be able to have some of our investigators come and be apart of that and to feel of the pure, undeniable spirit. Right stake conf. on Sunday was going to start I was standing my the door greeting people. I was trying to stand as long as possible because my back has been bothering me and we were sitting on the hard chairs :/ But I saw this old man about 70yrs old and I shook his hand and told him it was nice to see him and asked him what ward he was in and so forth. Well after the meeting he came up to me with tears in his eyes and said, " young lady I want to thank you for greeting me earlier this morning. Today was the first day I have been back to church in over 20 years. Many people came up to me and shook my hand, but you were the only one who really meant it." He then told me the story of his life and said he should have came back a long time ago, but how grateful he was to know that a loving Father in Heaven was aware of him that day. Wow! I was overcome by the spirit. I had so much gratitude in my heart that I was in a place that the Lord could use me as a help to one of his children. I will never forget Bill Miller!

I encourage you all to look around you when you go to church on Sunday and even any meeting you attend. Go meet people who you have never seen before and tell them hello and you are happy they are there, reach your hand out to them, Because you never know if they could be a "Bill Miller". You never know the lives you can change by just being there friend!

At stake conference I heard this quote that caught my attention. Is starts:

"Never give up what you want most, for what you want in the moment."

I think about obedience when I hear that. As missionaries we are counseled to be obedient in all that we do. But what about in our everyday lives. When we are being obedient its not that we are blinded, but rather that we can see! Everything the Savior did was out of obedience to the Father. He understood the Love that our Father in Heaven had for his children. I think if we could see how much Love He has for all of us individually we would want to be obedient and like Pres. Uchtdorf said, "we would make Love our walk and our talk".

I want you all to know how much I love my Heavenly Father and my Savior Jesus Christ. I know that it is when we strive to love others, He then will pour out His love upon us. I know of that to be true with all my heart.

xoxoxox

I love you all,

Sister Phillips